Pharrell Williams’ debut for Louis Vuitton

Expectations were high and they were certainly not disappointed. After the resounding appointment of music producer and artist Pharrell Williams as creative director of Louis Vuitton, all eyes at Paris Fashion Week were on his debut.

The show took place in the picturesque setting of the Pont Neuf in the presence of a star-studded parterre headed by Rihanna, star of the brand’s new advertising campaign, Zendaya, Lenny Kravitz, Naomi Campbell, Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, and many other high-profile names from the jet set.

To succeed the genius of Virgil Abloh, who passed away prematurely and was able to project the codes of luxury into the world of streetwear with such mastery, was certainly a complex undertaking. Pharrell decided to play it the same way: aligning himself with the project of his predecessor aware that there is no future without the past.

So here on the catwalk descended a new urban creativity capable of moving in balance between inviolable must-haves and new street codes. The famous Damier motif was thus transformed into Damoflage: a pixelated camouflage capable of recalling the pixels of video games and printed on shorts, kimonos, leather pants and bomber jackets as well as on numerous accessories.

Unmissable in this new urban era are sneakers: true protagonists of a change that embraces glamour and comfort. The palette of the more classic Damier also veers from the traditional brown to the new burgundy and blue colors. Pharrell’s touch can be felt in every detail: even in the jeweled glasses identical to those the new creative director usually wears during his public outings. In fact, attending the show, it seemed at times to be in a music video of the rapper among tracksuits, maxi furs and motifs inspired by American artist Henry Taylor. To the cry of “Make love, not war“, a gospel choir closed the highly anticipated fashion show and opened what promises to be a new era and a big gamble for the French fashion house.